


We're All One

by yuletide_archivist



Category: Across the Universe (2007)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-19
Updated: 2008-12-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 02:49:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1627616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They make a life together in a small two-bedroom house nestled between beach and redwoods.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We're All One

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to grit kitty for the beta!
> 
> Written for Scribewraith

 

 

They try to make it work in New York. They hope that love — both the love they had then and love they have now — is all they need to heal, to rebuild. Maybe it would be enough somewhere else, but it isn't enough in the city that tore them apart. So when Prudence and Rita decide to head west, Lucy and Jude follow. No one questions Max coming along.

They make a life together in a small two-bedroom house nestled between beach and redwoods. Santa Cruz is laidback, peaceful, and increasingly freethinking. It's a fresh start. For Lucy, it feels more like home than anywhere else she has ever been.

But for Prudence and Rita, it's far too quiet; six months later, they take off for the City. Max moves his things from the living room to the second bedroom and retires there every evening. But like it has been since he left the hospital, there is rarely a night where he doesn't end up in their bed, curled up between Lucy and mattress edge. 

Lucy and Jude get better. Mutual respect grows. Jude is quick to make artistic contacts and finds renewed inspiration both inside and outside of their home. Lucy enrolls at the fledgling university and embraces their stance of knowledge over grades. They're happy, both with themselves and with each other. But Max — Max, so happy when Jude first returns, the happiest Lucy remembers him being since Vietnam — he's fading. It's almost imperceptible, but Lucy knows her brother, knows him so very well. His smiles don't quite reach his eyes and his laughs are hollow. Lucy feels guilty. The better she and Jude get, the worse Max becomes. She knows the two occurrences are connected. The three of them — Lucy, Max, Jude — have always been connected, in so many ways, but this one connection benefits none. 

Early morning classes mean leaving before Jude and Max rouse and coming home to a messy kitchen. However, today there are no spoons in empty cereal bowls on the table, no half-full bottle of milk left out on the counter. Lucy walks softly into the bedroom and finds the two of them still asleep. They're on their sides, bed sheet at their waists, bent toward each other, so close without Lucy between them. Max's right hand rests on the crook of Jude's elbow. It's not the result of an unconscious movement done in sleep; it's a deliberate placement.

Lucy slips off her shoes and climbs into the bed behind Jude. The mattress shifts and Max wakes; he blinks and starts to move closer to the bed's edge, pulling his hand away from Jude's arm. Propped up on one elbow, Lucy reaches over Jude and grabs Max's hand before it can fully retreat. Max's eyes focus on hers and a puzzled expression crosses his face. Confusion becomes surprise when Lucy guides their interlaced hands to Jude's side, resting them on his sheet-covered hip. 

"A lifetime is so short, Max, and a new one can't be bought." She looks down at their joined hands before continuing. "But what you've got means such a lot to me." She squeezes his hand and meets his eyes again. "To us." They share a long look, and Lucy hopes he understands. 

When Max's gaze drops to Jude's face for a few seconds before rising to meet hers again, the corners of his eyes crinkled, Lucy knows he does.

She untangles their hands, leaving Max's alone on Jude's side. She runs her fingers across the slope of Jude's face and kisses the edge of his jaw, the stubble prickling her lips. Before long, Jude begins to stir and leans into her touch. Lucy watches his dark lashes flutter a few times before his eyes open. He stills when he sees Max. Lifting his head, Jude follows Max's outstretched arm to where his fingers lie. 

Jude's head tilts up, brow furrowed, his eyes asking Lucy a silent question.

Playing with his hair, Lucy smiles in answer.

Jude turns back to Max, who lifts himself up on one elbow, his pose now mirroring his sister's. Max shrugs his raised shoulder, and says, casually, "We were talking about the love we all could share," before diving in to kiss Jude without hesitation. Lucy sees Jude tense at the onslaught, the natural fluidity of his body replaced with an uncharacteristic rigidity, and she splays her fingers over his shoulder. She provides a gentle pressure against his skin, but whether it is her familiar presence or Max's lively mouth that causes the tension to bleed out from his body, she neither knows nor cares. In this moment, all that matters is the arch of Jude's neck as he leans into Max's kiss.

Jude slips his arms around Max's waist and pulls until they are pressed against each other. Max grunts, his hands going to Jude's shoulders; one hand meets Lucy's own and overlaps it without pause. The blood in Lucy's palms throbs. 

They draw away from her, rolling so that Jude is now lying on top of Max. Lucy lowers her head to the pillow and watches them, eyes wide and lips parted.

Although concealed by the sheet, Lucy can still make out Jude hastily pulling down Max's boxers before ridding himself of his own, their bodies meeting again with an audible smack of skin. Max shoves his hand between them. Jude's lips slip free from Max's skin and he groans against Max's cheek. The muscles in Max's arm flex and release as he pulls, strokes, rubs; the fingers of his other hand bite deep into the dip between Jude's shoulder blades. Jude's hands grip, twist, clench Max's hair as he devours Max's mouth and neck. Their bodies swell and crash in an erratic rhythm. It's rough and primal and imperfect and the most beautiful and natural thing Lucy has ever seen. 

One of Jude's hands leaves Max's hair and joins Max's busy one between them. Max seizes suddenly, gasping, his body tight against Jude's. Jude follows quick, groaning against the base of Max's throat, his hips thrusting sloppily before stilling.

Jude lifts his head and smiles down at Max, who lets out a soft laugh. "Without going out of my door, I can know all things on earth," Jude says, cupping the side of Max's face. Max lifts his neck and kisses him. Their lips smile against each other.

There's some rustling under the sheet and then two pairs of messy boxers are thrown to the side. Jude gives Lucy a lazy smile and crawls off Max. Lucy sees Max turn to his side and grin at her before her line of sight is obscured by Jude covering her body with his. He presses her into the blankets, sealing his mouth over hers. 

Lucy pushes at Jude's shoulders and they flip positions. Lucy sits up and back, her denim-covered legs astride his naked hips. Her hands press against the rise and fall of his chest. Jude looks up at her, lightly holding the gauzy fabric of her blouse. 

Lucy smiles in assurance and takes the hem of the garment from his hands. She swiftly pulls it over her head, her falling hair cascading across her bare breasts. She hears a sharp inhale of breath and knows it's not from Jude. Jude's eyes dart to the side; his eyebrows raise and his lips twitch. Lucy laughs and drops her blouse over Max's head. Snorting, Max pulls the fabric from his face and tucks it under his head like a pillow. He gestures for them to continue, an impudent smile on his face.

Biting his upturned bottom lip, Jude places his hands on the waistband of Lucy's jeans. He pops open the buttons and pushes his hand inside, tugging aside her cotton panties and sliding his fingers against her. Lucy sighs. Jude starts slow, his calloused fingertips catching against the delicate skin in a delightful way. His other hand glides over her torso — up her spine, across her breasts, down her belly — before settling on the slight jut of her right hipbone. 

"Without looking out of my window, I could know the ways of heaven," Jude says, staring up at her, voice soft. Lucy's breath hitches, both at the weight of his words and the feel of his fingers slipping inside her. He rubs firmly with his thumb as he moves within her. Lucy bends forward, gasping, her hips desperately moving with his touch. She finds Max's hand beside them and clutches it within hers. Max's thumb brushes tenderly across her knuckles.

"Make love singing songs," she says, her lips touching Jude's as she speaks. A little more pressure, a little more friction, and she's there, back arching and voice catching in her throat, her body clenching around Jude's fingers and her hand tightening around Max's.

Lucy's eyes close as Jude continues to touch her, drawing out the pleasure, until it becomes too much and she whimpers. Jude gently withdraws his fingers, and Lucy falls against him, her head coming to rest on his chest. Jude lays his slick fingers at the base of her spine and shifts under her. He is hard and warm against her belly.

There's movement next to them, and Lucy's hair is brushed to the side and a dry kiss is placed beneath her ear. "With our love we could save the world," Max says, with certainty. She feels his hand cover Jude's on her back.

Lucy smiles against Jude's skin.   
  
  
The next day, Lucy arrives home to full-bodied laughter. Jude and Max sit at the kitchen table, cereal bowls in front of them, their faces animated and their eyes bright. Max looks up at Lucy, his smile broad and true; it reflects Jude's own smile. Lucy feels warmth blossom in her chest.

The connection has been remolded.   
  


* * *

Note: Select lyrics were used in this story from the following Beatles songs: "Love You To" (Lucy), "Within You Without You" (Max), and "The Inner Light" (Jude).

 


End file.
